Bass Voice, SATB and Orchestra SKU: HL.14009655
Composed by Edward Elgar. Music Sales America. Romantic. Book [Softcover]. 186 pages. Music Sales #NOV950513. Published by Music Sales (HL.14009655). 9.0x11.75x0.685 inches.
The plot of Elgar's King Olaf cantata has been criticized for it lack of cohesion, but the musical settings contain power, majesty, stirring melodies, joyous lyricism and a finale of immense proportion and emotional effect. As a lesser work of a great composer, it certainly bears study. As a work on its own, King Olaf rewards performers and listeners with superb moments. A final a capella Chorus, As Torrents In Summer, is frequently performed on its own.Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf is widely considered to be the best of Elgar's pre-Enigma compositions. He was commissioned to write this work for the North Staffordshire Music Festival in 1896, and he chose to adaptsections of Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn with the assistance of his neighbour, the translator H A Acworth. Acworth reduced the length of Longfellow's twenty-two sections to just eight with added material.
